A Christmas Day downer

The veteran Dallas Mavericks gave the Portland Trail Blazers a lesson in toughness and discipline.

PORTLAND — The veteran Dallas Mavericks gave the Portland Trail Blazers a lesson in toughness and discipline.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 24 of his 30 points in the first half, and Jason Terry had 19 to help surging Dallas beat the Blazers 102-94 on Thursday night.

Nowitzki was 12-of-18 from the field and scored on power moves and jumpers despite playing the second half in foul trouble. Josh Howard added 15 points for Dallas, 15-4 in its last 19 games after opening 2-7.

The Mavericks kept their poise after a near-meltdown in the third quarter when they had four technical fouls and Howard was called for a flagrant foul and later ejected.

"You know what? We fought," coach Rick Carlisle said. "We fought the whole game. There were some calls we didn't agree with and we may have lost our poise a little bit, but it was really about the fight tonight."

The Mavericks closed the game with a 12-2 run, while Roy went 0-for-3 in the final 3:33 for Portland.

Portland shot 55 percent and Dallas 58 percent in the first half. Portland led 10-2, but Nowitzki scored 12 of Dallas' next 14 points and the Mavericks opened up a nine-point lead. Dallas' first-half advantage crested at 10 at 51-41. Fernandez hit a 3-pointer and Blake had seven points for Portland, and the Mavs led 59-55 at the break.

Nowitzki picked up his fourth foul early in the third and left the game, picking up a technical foul for arguing with official Bob Delaney on the way out. With Nowitzki out, Portland took a 67-66 lead on a 12-foot jumper by LaMarcus Aldridge.

"I don't think anybody panicked, even with all the Ts," said Jason Kidd, who had six points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for Dallas. "We kept plugging away, keeping it close down the stretch to see if we could get a win on the road."

Howard sent 7-foot-1 Joel Przybilla sprawling to the floor, then was hit with a technical for jawing with Przybilla and got the second technical seconds later. Portland took an 80-77 lead into the final period.

The Blazers' hopes were quickly diminished, though. Terry hit a 3 for Dallas, and Brandon Bass scored twice to put the Mavericks up by seven.

"They didn't let up," Roy said. "We thought we had them down and they weren't down. Coach (Nate McMillan) said they outhustled us, and you can't dispute that."

The Blazers lost a share of the Northwest Division lead, which they shared with Denver after splitting a home-and home-series with the Nuggets early in the week.

Notes: Portland rookie guard/forward Rudy Fernandez is competing with fellow rookies Joe Alexander of Milwaukee and Russell Westbrook of Oklahoma City for a spot in the Slam Dunk contest on All-Star Weekend. Fans can vote on NBA.com. ... Dallas is 16-2 in its last 18 games against Portland. ... The Mavericks have played on Christmas just one other time, a win over Sacramento in 2003.